Like many other photographers who enjoy shooting the night sky, I appreciate the frustration of finding a locale with a sky dark and clear enough to ensure success – that is, free of city light pollution and cloud cover. Not only do the phase and exact location of the moon make a big difference when shooting stars and star trails, but the level of darkness and atmospheric clarity are critical components. Although I love viewing images of landscapes taken at night, one of the more compelling subjects for me are churches in isolated locations. There is something very magical and serene being far away from the city, cloaked in the darkness of night, with only my camera, tripod, and a few simple light painting tools to keep me company. Factor in an historic church under the vast starry sky and I am hooked.

With that in mind, I drove up California Highway 101 late one afternoon to the small town of Bradley, home to many employees of Camp Roberts, a California National Guard post. There you will find the lovely Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, a small Roman Catholic church under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Monterey. Since Bradley is in a very rural location, it is a good place to shoot the night sky. Located at the intersection of Bradley Road and Sargent Canyon Road, Our Lady of Guadalupe is a classic mission style church with a lovely cross and statue of the blessed Virgin Mary. The only problem is the small apartment complex located on its western flank, which puts out some light contamination due to porch and street lamps.

Stars Over Our Lady

This image (a single Camera RAW shot) was taken with my Nikon D800 and a 14-24mm f2.8 super-wide angle Nikkor lens at ISO 250 for 30 seconds, with a focal length of 16mm and aperture of 2.8. I used a small LED flashlight with a handmade snoot to do some light painting on the front and top of the church in order to illuminate the cross and statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. (A snoot concentrates the light and helps eliminate light spilling or contamination in areas you don’t want lit.) I also arrived before dusk in order to focus my camera before complete darkness set in, since my depth of field was very shallow. The wider the angle of the lens and larger the aperture (smaller f number), the more stars you will capture. The process to determine the correct exposure for the stars as well as the light painting is simply trial and error. It took me a considerable amount of time to process the image in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, as well as clone out the telephone poles and wires. Many friendly people popped out of their homes and wandered across the street to inquire about my presence, which is expected in a small town. The only thing that could have been better was if I had the power to turn off the porch and street lights. Bradley is located just north of the town of San Miguel, home of the historic Mission San Miguel. I hope to return in the future and set my camera up to shoot star trails by use of image stacking techniques.

If you are interested in learning how to photograph the night sky, I highly recommend the wonderful eBook Shooting Stars: How to Photograph the Moon and Stars with your DSLR by Phil Hart, winner of the 2012 David Malin Astrophotography Award. Shooting Stars, a 129-page eBook with a printable field guide, will show you how to shoot your own stunning images of the moon and the stars with just your digital SLR and a tripod.

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